The Wild Goose Chase
by The Evina
Summary: The princess has a new assignment for her student Twilight Sparkle. But will she be able to do it without losing her mind?
1. Celestia's Request

Spike was running as fast as he could to find Twilight. He had just received an urgent letter from Princess Celestia. Fortunately, he managed to find her in her bed taking an afternoon nap, and although he was told not to disturb her, he shook her awake anyway.

The purple unicorn awoke with a gasp. "Spike! I told you not to wake me up! Have you forgotten how much studying I had to do last night?"

"But you received a letter from the princess, and it's urgent!"

Twilight sighed and quickly unrolled the scroll using her magic.

_Dear Twilight Sparkle,_

_I have urgent need of your assistance in Canterlot. Please come as quickly as possible._

_Sincerely, Princess Celestia_

Twilight leaped out of bed, and without saying goodbye to Spike, she immediately teleported herself to Canterlot Castle.

While galloping into the sparkling castle, she spotted the princess sitting on her throne, brushing her flowing mane and looking oddly unconcerned.

"Princess, I came as quickly as I could!" Twilight spoke while trying to catch her breath. "What is the problem?"

The princess sounded surprised to hear from Twilight and slowly turned to face her. "Problem?" she asked. "Oh... that's right..." Using magic, she delicately sent her hairbrush to a guard to take away. "I'm afraid something awful has happened and I just don't know what to do!"

"Yes, princess, what is it?"

"Oh, it's just simply dreadful!"

"Yes?"

"I've lost my goose!"

Twilight was taken aback. "Your... what?"

"My goosie woosie! It was my favorite toy as a filly and now I can't find it!"

"Oh..." Twilight squeaked, sounding almost like Fluttershy. "That's pretty... awful. Um, why is this an emergency?"

"Because I feel like I want it now!"

Twilight was unsure if the princess was feeling alright. "Well, when was the last time you saw it?"

The princess pondered. "I think I last had it about... maybe... fifteen hundred years ago."

Twilight honestly couldn't understand why she was talking to the princess about this. "Well that would explain why you're not able to find it. Where have you looked?"

"Oh, I haven't looked for it. That would be silly. It's at my family's old royal home on the other side of Equestria, in the most dangerous of places known to ponykind!"

"And you want me to find it?"

"Uh huh…" The princess smiled. "I have a map!" She sent it over to Twilight via magic.

It was incredibly large and old and showed the geography of Equestria over a millennium ago. That was back in the days when Discord ruled. Things were much different then and Twilight couldn't see how it would be possible to reach her goal.

"Princess, you can't be serious..."

"Look at me Twilight! I _am_ serious." Celestia had a strange madness in her eyes.

"But can't you do this yourself?"

"And leave all of our citizens vulnerable? I don't think so!"

"What about Luna? Can't she go for you?"

"Oh no, she's still trying to catch up on all of the television shows she's missed while on the moon. I think she's now working on Doctor Whooves."

"But I can't do this on my own!"

"I never said you would do it on your own."

"My friends would never agree to go with me!"

"I never said that they would... but I do know of someone who will."

Twilight looked puzzled. She wondered who in their right mind would want to go on this stupid quest for a goose doll.

"Isn't that right? You'll help her." Celestia spoke to someone that Twilight couldn't see. And then out of the shadows behind the throne appeared Discord. The princess continued talking, but Twilight didn't hear any more. She couldn't believe the princess would ever release her greatest enemy, the spirit of chaos and the opposing force of harmony.

"Ah, if it isn't Twilight Sparkle!" Discord grinned. "How good it is to see you again. Well, not really. After all, you did sort of defeat me. But now we can finally be friends!"

Twilight stood stiff with her mouth wide open, still unable to believe this was happening. Discord pushed it shut with a finger. "Oh, don't give me that look. We're going to have a great time together! And do you mind if I just call you Twi or Sparkles or..."

"No! We will never be friends! And you will only call me by my real name, Twilight Sparkle!"

Discord groaned. "Oh drat! You're no more fun than you used to be. But I'm sure you'll warm up in good time." He turned back to the princess. "We'll find your doll, don't you worry!"

"Thank you, Discord! You seem to be a lot more cooperative than Miss Sparkle today."

Discord winked, and then he turned around and danced out of the castle while Twilight reluctantly followed behind him. She carried the large, old map on her back, and wondered what could possibly have caused all of this to happen.


	2. The Journey Begins

As they were leaving Canterlot, many ponies turned their heads to see them. Discord was dancing, singing, and laughing whereas she was only groaning.

"So uh... where exactly are we going?" the unicorn inquired.

Discord stopped and lifted the heavy map off her back. "As you can see here, we would first need to go through the Haunted Grove. Today you ponies call it the Everfree Forest.

"I had a feeling you were going to say that. What are we going to do if we run into some kind of monster?"

"Like what?"

"A cockatrice?"

Discord chuckled. "As the spirit of chaos, I am immune to such silly magical tricks."

"And what about me? I'm not immune! I was turned to stone once!"

"If you remember, Miss Sparkle, I also have experience being turned to stone. Only it was for a much longer time than you were. Anyway, why would you think I would ever let something harm you?"

Twilight had to consider it for a moment, because she couldn't think of any good reason why Discord would want to have her around.

"You should actually consider yourself lucky." he continued, disturbing her train of thought. "The princess was going to send me alone but I suggested that you come along with me."

Twilight growled. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I needed company, and you've proven yourself to be very resilient! I mean, you were the very last one to turn gray that day!"

Twilight was suddenly hit with a torrent of memories. Applejack became a liar, Pinkie Pie became angry, Rarity became selfish, Rainbow Dash betrayed them, and Fluttershy turned wicked. The thought of that last one sent shivers down her spine and now she hated Discord even more than before. She dropped the map and stopped walking.

"Why should I trust you? I've seen what you've done and it was wrong! You nearly ruined our world forever! How come you're doing this for the princess? What are _you_ going to get from all of this?"

Discord was patient with her. He stopped his dancing and lazily leaned against a tree. "It's funny you should ask. The princess promised me, when we return with the doll, to give me my own little corner of Equestria to rule in chaos, without any harm to ponykind."

Twilight found it difficult to believe that the princess would say that. "And you actually believe her?"

"Well if _you_ were stuck in her statue garden as long as I was, you would take the offer too. I have nothing more to lose and only this to gain."

"Well, you have a good point..." Twilight muttered. As she looked up from the ground, she noticed that they had reached the outskirts of Ponyville. She just hoped that nopony would recognize her here with him.

As they passed the library, Twilight could see Spike's fearful face peering out from a window. No doubt the princess had already informed him what was happening. And, unfortunately, he was probably going to tell all the others as soon as he got the chance. She was doomed to be a laughing stalk. Not to be remembered as a good student, but as the pony who went with Discord on a pointless quest to find the princess's long-lost doll at the other end of the world. How pathetic.

"Ah, we've finally arrived!" Discord beamed as they approached the edge of the forest.

Twilight took one last look behind her, knowing this would be the point of no return. She wouldn't see her friends again for weeks or even months. She was almost tempted to run away, but she realized she had a duty to serve the princess, even if it meant doing something absolutely insane.

Discord still looked unfazed as they went worked their way deeper into the forest. Soon Twilight could barely see where they were going. Suddenly, she ran into him without knowing he had stopped.

"Well, we can't go through there..." he remarked.

It took a minute for her eyes to adjust, and then she saw what he meant. They were at a huge murky swamp probably filled with many dangerous creatures.

"It looks like it's impossible to cross... but it's not!" he smiled. "Just watch and learn!"

And with a wave of his hand, the swamp transformed into a lake of glowing purple jello. He then proceeded to bounce around on it merrily.

"Can't you do anything normal?" Twilight complained.

"Oh course not! My magic is incredibly powerful, but it only works when it's funny or strange."

"I don't see how any of your chaos could be considered powerful or impressive." she scoffed

"I'll try not to take offense," he responded, "because one day you'll learn to appreciate me and my magic."

She snorted as she began her slow walk across the lake of jello. "Fat chance..."


	3. The Other Side

Once Twilight had finished crossing the lake of jello, it was reverted back into the dark and murky swamp. Again, they were left in almost complete darkness as they continued.

As she and Discord worked their way further into the forest, it became even darker (if that was even possible). Even Zecora didn't venture this far into the forest. And soon Twilight couldn't even see her hoof in front of her face.

She relied on the sound of Discord's footsteps and followed closely behind him, hoping she wouldn't run into a tree. But after a few minutes she wondered whether she was actually following him or just hearing her own hoofsteps. She stopped and listened. There was no sound.

"Um... Discord? Are you still there?"

There was no response.

"It's kind of dark here. Can you turn on a light... if you're still there?"

There was no reply, but a tiny light did appear. It was a little firefly, and from its light she could barely see where she was.

"Um... that was you who did that wasn't it?" she asked.

The firefly began moving away from her. Twilight followed it, although she didn't know where it was taking her. It lead her quite a ways from where she found it until it slowly stopped and landed on the nose of a menacing face.

"BOO!"

The unicorn jumped back in fright. "DISCORD! Why did you do that?"

He wasn't paying attention to her because he was laughing too hard. "You should have seen the look on your face! _Priceless!_"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, I've been told that before..."

Discord wiped a tear from his eye and caught his breath. "I haven't had that much fun since I made Ponyville the chaos capital of the world!"

"Yeah, yeah, enough chit-chat. We should continue walking. I hate this forest. And I'm sick of the dark."

Discord started walking again, and the tiny firefly followed him, providing barely enough light to see where they were going. "You don't like the dark?" he asked, sounding puzzled, "You must be kidding me! I thought you were a unicorn, and not only that, but you represent the element of magic! Can't you make your little horn glow or something like that?"

"Sure, but my magic also has limitations. Have you ever heard of the phrase 'friendship is magic'? It's only potent when I am feeling the power of friendship. And I'm not feeling it right now, especially being so near to the spirit of chaos!"

"I still can't believe you don't see me as your friend." he sighed.

"Because you're not, and you never will be." she shot back.

"Someday..."

"No, I kind of doubt it."

"Oh, don't be so silly Miss Sparkle, one day you'll see..."

Twilight was becoming annoyed. "Grrr! Can't you just tell me when we're going to get out of here?"

Discord put a finger in the air like he was sensing something, even though there was no wind. "I think we may already be half-way through."

"And what's on the other side of the forest?"

"Didn't you look at the map?"

"I haven't had a chance to yet."

"Well then it will be a surprise!"

And it seemed Discord was right, in less than an hour there appeared to be small amounts of light coming in from the cracks between the trees. It wouldn't be long now before they were out of it for good. The tiny firefly left them because they no longer needed it.

Discord finally broke the long silence. "Ah, I can see the end just up ahead."

Twilight emerged from the forest and into a large grassy plain with a hill in the distance. She sat down to take a rest.

"And I told you I wouldn't let anything harm you in there. Was I right or was I right?"

Twilight didn't answer him. She was too tired.

"Oh, but aren't you excited? We've reached the edge of modern Equestria! Nopony has been here for hundreds of years! Just imagine everything we have to re-explore!"

"I just want to go to sleep..."

"But won't you at least see the other side of the hill? I promise you it will be impressive. It's not that far!"

"Do I have to?"

"Please, just come to the other side of the hill."

She surrendered and stood up. Discord was so excited that she was curious to see what it wall all about. It only took a few minutes to work her way to the top of the hill. And, surprisingly, Discord turned out to be right. It was amazing. They were standing at the edge of a rocky cliff with a beach and ocean below. The sun was setting and the water was glimmering in many different colors.

"I told you it would be great." he teased her.

"Yes it's... lovely. I don't think I've seen anything like this in any of my books."

"You ponies wouldn't have a name for it now, but back in my day, it was called the Great Blue Sea. It's the boundary between the world of the past and the world of the present."

They watched the sun go down until the sky was almost as dark as the forest. Thousands of stars appeared shimmering in the dark blue sky.

"Oh, and didn't you say you were tired?" Discord asked, "Because I brought something that might help that." He snapped his fingers and a small, old tent appeared on the ground.

Twilight just stared at it. "How are we going to fit in there?"

"Oh, we're not _both_ going to be in there..."

"So you want me to sleep outside?"

"No... _you_ can have it all to yourself. I don't actually sleep at all."

She was momentarily shocked that he actually thought about her feeling and would bring a tent just for her.

"Um... thanks!" she smiled weakly and went inside. It wasn't in the finest shape, but it would do. The map was thrown into a corner and she collapsed on the bed and went to sleep.


	4. Set Sail for Chaos

Twilight woke up in the tiny tent, and for a moment, she wondered how she had appeared there instead of her warm and cozy bed in the library back in Ponyville. But then she caught a glimpse of the map lying by her legs and remembered the awful day before and the mission that the princess had given her. She sighed sorrowfully and began preparing herself for the journey ahead. When she was finished, she peered her head out of the tent.

Discord stood still as a statue with his eyes pointed out towards the dark waters of the sea. Twilight wondered if he had ever moved from that position the entire night. He seemed strangely solemn, like he was sad about something. Or maybe, it was not sadness but a longing. He was a Draconequus, and probably the last of his kind. And this was his only hope of finding his place in this strange world of ponies. This was his only way to gain anything, a small piece of uninhabited Equestria for himself to rule in his own way, with chaos.

The way he looked made Twilight feel pity for him, but then she had to remind herself of the things that he had done to her friends. She knew from history that there was no way he could ever be trusted, and he was almost certainly going to break his promise eventually. But then why did he come this far for the doll? And what made the princess trust him? Does the princess actually trust him? If not, then why did she send Twilight with him?

She stepped out of the tent, deciding to think some more about it later.

Discord turned his head to face her. "Ah, so you're finally awake. I'm sorry I forgot about how frequently ponies need to eat. You should probably take this." With a flick of his hand, a large sack appeared near her.

Twilight was so confused and tired that she had forgotten how hungry she was. It had been a while since she had last eaten. She opened the sack and found an assortment of fruit, flowers and grasses.

"Um, thanks." she smiled.

"The pleasure is mine, Miss Sparkle. Just let me know when you're ready to go."

After Twilight had finished eating a fresh and delicious meal, Discord made the bag and tent disappear. She was beginning to wonder where he was keeping all of that stuff. Then she took a look over the cliff at the sea below. How were they going to get down there in one piece?

Discord seemed to know exactly what she was thinking because he caused a huge rainbow-colored spiral slide to appear. Then he flew down to the bottom. "You can go now." he shouted up to her.

She took the slide down to the beach, and as soon as she stepped off, it turned into thousands of multicolored balloons that flew away. They were pretty but reminded her of the frightening story Pinkie told her about the last time Discord escaped. However, deciding not to have that haunt her, she shook off the bad memory and turn back to Discord on the beach.

"So, what do you think?" Discord asked her cheerfully. "How are we going to cross this sea?"

"Um... we make a boat?" she suggested.

He groaned. "Oh, you're no fun at all! I was hoping you would think of something more creative. Like... the world's longest bridge!"

"No, I don't have a problem with taking a boat just like everypony else."

Discord was not amused, but he snapped his fingers and made a small boat appear. It was made entirely of different types of cheeses.

The unicorn was concerned about it. "But won't it attract sharks?"

Discord considered it. "Well, you do have a point..." he agreed. With another snap of his fingers, the boat was replaced with a different one consisting mostly of pink feathers. The sail was a large square of bubble wrap.

"Will it work?"

"What? Oh, Twilight, this vessel will last 'til the end of the world... I think."

She stepped inside and it seemed to feel pretty sturdy, so she sat down. Discord got in and sat down on the opposite end. The boat began moving on it's own, even though Twilight couldn't tell that there was any wind. She watched Equestria slowly growing smaller and smaller in the distance as they sailed away from it. She became anxious, wondering how long she would have to be stuck in this boat sitting so close to him.

They sat in silence until Equestria could no longer be seen. There was nothing but blue water in any direction they looked. The sun had risen and the sky was bright.

"Uh, do you want to play a game?" He asked.

"Like…?"

He didn't answer. "Well, do you know any good tunes?"

"Actually, I'm content with just having silence." She assured him.

He didn't look easy. "You're ruining a perfectly perfect day, Miss Sparkle! We could be having so much fun!"

"Nah. Why don't you make yourself useful and get me something so I could rest?"

Discord grudgingly snapped his fingers and Twilight received sunglasses and a large hat. She noticed it was a sombrero, but it didn't matter. The heat and the sound of the boat breaking the water were relaxing. And she was still tired from yesterday's long journey, so she quietly dozed off.


	5. The Island

Twilight was nudged awake by Discord. She didn't know how much time had passed, so she removed her hat and glasses. Judging by the position of the sun, a few hours had passed. "What is it?"

Discord pointed behind her. "Look! There's land!"

Twilight spun around to see that they were indeed approaching an island. "So..."

"So, I wanted to see where we are." Discord finished.

"But don't you know every location on this world?"

"Well, geography has changed a little since then. I would need to see the map."

"Oh," she said, "I left it in the tent."

"Ah, for the love of... alright." He made the tent appear, reached inside, pulled out the map, and made the tent disappear again. "Now let's see... oh right... that would be... _Isla de los extraños_. You know what a legend says? There's a treasure hidden there that nobody has found for thousands of years. I think we should see if the legend is true."

"No, I vote that we continue until we find that goose."

"But you've never let me have any fun!" He complained. "I'm sorry, but I'm doing this for our own good." He created a quill and parchment and began writing.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Dear Princess Celestia, we have come to _Isla de los extraños_ which legend says holds a hidden treasure. Should we go out of our way to find it? Miss Sparkle says it's a bad idea. Sincerely, Discord." He blew fire and the message zipped away.

"The princess is never going to let you do it." The unicorn taunted. "You might as well forget about all of your little plans to distract us from the business we..."

A message appeared in front of her and interrupted her thought. It was a little faster than most responses and she wondered why it was meant for her. Cautiously, she unrolled it and read.

_Dear Twilight Sparkle,_

_I think Discord is right. You should go to the island and find the treasure. Don't be such a grump!_

_Sincerely, Princess Celestia_

Her mouth fell open. She couldn't believe the words she was reading. And the princess called her a grump! She had never said that about her before.

Discord burst out in laughter from seeing her expression. "I'll take that as a yes." He concluded, using his magic to direct the boat towards the island.

Twilight growled angrily, tore up the letter, and threw it into the sea. She would have to follow the princess's order, but she was determined she was not going to like it.

The boat bumped the beach and the two of them stepped out. Discord dragged it back so the tide wouldn't take it away. Now that she was standing here, Twilight estimated the size of the island. It appeared to be circular and about a mile in diameter.

"So where do you think we should start?" He asked her.

"You mean, you don't even know where to look?"

"Nope."

She dropped her head. "I don't believe you..."

"Well, I suppose we can start by searching this ominous-looking cave." he suggested.

Twilight turned to see what he was looking at. It was a gaping hole in the side of a rocky hill with stalactites and stalagmites that looked like teeth. "Oh yeah," she mumbled to herself, "this will be a whole lot of fun..."

Discord picked up a large stick and ignited it with dragon-like fire. Then he led the way into the cave.

As they went inside, it was a lot larger than Twilight had expected and it seemed to go on forever. It was slightly windy and there was the sound of dripping water. The path looked like it was cut into the shapes of steps leading them downward. And as they descended, it got colder and wetter. It got to a point where they were walking through an inch of water. The wind had stopped and the splashing of their feet was the only noise.

He suddenly stopped, and fortunately, Twilight was able to avoid bumping into him this time. Discord used the torch to illuminate a wall. There were many strange symbols and pictures carved there. As he swept across the wall, she began to notice a map of the world and the images of many ponies. And then she saw something that looked something like a Draconequus.

He quickly withdrew the torch from the wall and the images vanished into the shadows.

"What did it say?"

"Oh, you know, just some boring old stories. It's how history was recorded a very long time ago. Anyway, we have that treasure to find. I know how anxious you are to get out of here."

They continued on their way. Twilight was actually feeling a little more relaxed, but Discord looked nervous.

A few minutes later, they heard a funny chattering sound.

"Uh... what was that?" she asked.

"Let's find out." Discord smiled. He lowered his torch to the ground and saw a small, ugly gnome-like creature wading in the water. Its face was spotted with warts and it had a large round nose and dark blue skin. "Ah, it's just a snortle."

"A... snortle. WHAT?"

"They inhabit this island and are said to guard the treasure. We must be getting close."

The snortle growled and pulled at Discord's foot, but it didn't seem to affect him at all.

Twilight noticed that the water was getting deeper. After a couple more minutes of walking, it became about six inches deep. They entered a huge cavern with sparkling walls. Hundreds of snortles sat on ledges around the room and growled menacingly as they entered.

A large stone chest sat on an ornate pedestal in the middle of the room. They ran through the water right up to it.

Some of the snortles hopped off their ledges and ran over to them, pulling at their legs. It was extremely annoying, but it didn't hurt them at all.

"What do we do now?" Twilight asked him loudly above the noise of the angry snortles. "It looks like we need some sort of round key to open it."

"I don't have a key." he replied.

"Oh, I think I have an idea." she said. She picked up one of the kicking creatures and inserted his nose into the hole. It worked perfectly.

"Aha! Now you're thinking with snortles!" he cheered her.

Twilight opened the stone chest. Inside it was a wooden chest. She opened that chest and found another, and inside that was another, and inside that was another. The last chest was very small. She held it in her teeth and they ran away from the angry snortles.

Once they reached the mouth of the cave, they stepped out into the blinding sunlight.

Twilight was beginning to feel more excited now. "I wonder what it could be!" she said, sitting down on the beach to rest from the running.

Discord took the tiny chest from her and opened it up. It only contained a single dusty gem.

She was very disappointed. "That's it? That's the treasure? It just looks like a piece of junk!"

He, on the other hand, was fascinated with it. "Well... maybe I'll just hold on to it for safe keeping." He made the gem disappear and discarded the box and the torch.

They headed back to the boat to continue their journey. Twilight was back to her melancholy self. But unfortunately, there was a huge crustacean-like creature eating parts of the boat. It would no longer be usable.

She charged at the creature and it ran away, while Discord cleaned up the old boat and made a new one. This one was made of an orange rubbery substance.

They got inside and Discord looked around for the map. "Where did it go?" He looked down into the water and found it floating there. "It's a bit soggy, but still readable." he remarked. "So, which way do we go now to find that goose?"


	6. Welcome to the Jungle

Discord changed the boat's direction to sail away from the island and out into the open sea. It was moving even faster than it was before.

"Sorry, but we still have a long way to go before we reach land again." he announced. "Mostly because we were kind of... uh... going the wrong way."

"How?"

"The map was upside-down."

"Ah, so we didn't have to go to that island?"

"But I really wanted to see what was hidden there!"

"It was just a dirty old gem. I don't think that would help us very much!"

Discord didn't reply. Twilight could tell by the position of the sun that they weren't heading north anymore, but south. There were still a few more hours before it was going to become dark.

So, how do you plan to pass the time? he asked.

"You tell me..."

"Stop being so negative! I think you should try to show me some of your magic."

"I already told you, I can't."

"Just try."

She gave up trying to resist because she knew he would eventually win. After a few seconds, several sparks rose from her horn and she concentrated on turning a seashell in the boat into a cupcake. But she could tell that Discord was staring at her, and so her eyes darted up into his face before she could stop herself. Dozens of awful images flashed through her head and filled her with dread. She lost all magic.

"Well, I tried." she told him.

"It'll come back. I know it will." he assured her.

"Can't I just eat and go to bed early?"

"Why would you?"

"Because maybe I'll be strong enough to go farther tomorrow."

"Ok, sure." he said. The sack of food appeared and Twilight finished all that was left. She was tired and didn't know what to do to pass the time. All she wanted was to get away from him.

Discord cleaned up and made the tent appear. She noticed that he wasn't looking too happy, but she still didn't care about him that much.

She went inside but the boat was rocking too much for her to sleep. She was hating this adventure more and more as time passed on, although she did have to admit that the island adventure was a little fun (but she would never admit it to him). For a while she was sorely tempted to teleport back to Ponyville (even though she knew she probably didn't have enough magic to make it). She would return back to her mundane life, and she would be directly disobeying an order from the princes. But it might be worth it.

_But this isn't too bad._ She thought. _Actually, there are many ponies who would give anything to do what I am doing, that is, if there was any chance of survival. Maybe I'm actually lucky. But then if I'm so lucky, why do I have to go with him? Why did the princess want me to go with him? Or did he just say that to make me angry? Does he actually think we have any chance of being friends?_

She thought of many things and it was beginning to make her sleepy. She thought of Spike and her friends at home and how worried that must be about her. The movement of the boat was no longer annoying, but somehow soothing, and she dozed off feeling safe and secure.

* * *

The next day she awoke to find pink light fading through the walls of the tent. She figured it must have been dawn. She prepared herself the best she could for the day ahead and peeked out of the tent quietly to see Discord without having him know she was awake.

He was doing it again. He was facing the rising sun with a sad, but perhaps hopeful expression. It went against everything she knew about him. The way he looked made him appear to be strangely un-Discord-like. She wondered what he could possibly be thinking about to make him look like that. And the sense of pity for him overtook her again.

Discord turned around. "Hello, Miss Sparkle. I could hear you breathing there for a while."

"Oh, uh, sorry." she said sheepishly, feeling bad for having been caught spying.

A minute later, he broke the awkward silence. "Anyway, we have arrived at land. You wouldn't be able to see it because it's behind the tent."

She stepped out and turned around. All she could see past a small beach was countless trees. And they were much taller and thicker than the ones in the Everfree Forest. "Is that..."

"…a jungle." he interjected. "And it will be very dangerous and hard to travel... but who cares?"

"And what about breakfast?"

"You'll have to find some on the way." He tossed her a pith helmet. "So are you ready?"

"Uh sure, as long as you know where you're going."

They stepped out of the boat and Discord cleaned it up. As they entered the jungle, Twilight first realized how humid and noisy it was. And there were patches of fog where it was hard to see where they were going. Birds and insects and creatures that she had never heard of before were making their presence known. And the plants were very large and strange.

"Just to let you know, you might want to avoid touching anything spotted... or striped... or anything really. Just don't touch anything unless I say it's ok, okay?"

That was going to be very difficult. The vegetation was very thick. As they plowed their way through the fog, vines and fallen logs covered in moss would seemingly appear out of nowhere.

Then they came upon a large tree with branches weighed down by hundreds of dull red fruits.

"Oh, you can eat that." he told her.

She knocked a few to the ground and picked one of them up. It was heavy and very thick on the outside, but once she opened it, it will filled with hundreds of seeds that were very delicious.

"I think it is called a Pomegranate." he said. "Anyway, we should probably get going..."

"NOT SO FAST!"

At first, neither of them could tell where the voice was coming from.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you!" the gruff voice shouted.

They gazed up at the tree. A furious gorilla was glowering down at them.

"This is my tree! You think you can just take some of my fruit whenever you want?"

"Were sorry," Twilight began, with a timid voice that reminded her of Fluttershy.

"Don't be sorry... THINK for one flippin' second!"

"Hey! Nobody talks to Twilight that way!" Discord shot back.

"Oh really? And what are you going to do about it mister freaky-species-that-I've-never-seen-before? You look like a mish-mash of everything but the kitchen sink! And when I'm through with you, you'll wish you were never born!"

Discord snapped his fingers and the gorilla became a rectangular pastry with pink frosting and sprinkles. He picked it up and ate it. Twilight thought she heard something that sounded like a "meow".

"Mmm... tasty."

Although she was a bit disgusted by that, she felt somewhat flattered that Discord was standing up for her. She wondered if it was some kind of trick because it was still hard to believe that he would actually care about her.

They continued working their way through the wild jungle and Discord collected fruit in the sack to keep for later. After a couple of hours, they could see a break in the trees ahead.

When they arrived, the view they found was stunning. They could see the canopy of thousands of trees below them, in a canyon leaning up to a gargantuan rocky mountain with snow around its peak. She wished she had brought a camera to capture this beauty.

"That's where we need to go." Discord spoke.

"I had a feeling you were going to say that. It looks pretty dangerous... and cold"

"Very cold." he said. "But doesn't that sound refreshing?"

Twilight had to admit that she was very hot and wet from the journey through the forest and was disappointed that they still had a couple miles to go until they reached the end of the canyon and the foot of the mountain. "I'm ready when you are..."

He smiled. "Oh... I know of a shortcut."

"What?"

"Twilight, grab my arm!"

She did so reluctantly, and then they were unexpectedly blasted forward by a powerful force. They flew over the canyon as fast as lightning, riding on a giant rainbow.

"ADVENTURE!" he cried.


	7. Going Up

The two of them landed near the base of the mountain, looking and feeling exhausted.

"What... in the world... was THAT?" the unicorn demanded between breaths.

"I have no idea!" he said. "But it was fantastic! I haven't done that in ages."

"Well, as much as it scared the living daylights out of me, do you think you could do that again to get us up this mountain?"

"Nope, it drained all of my magic for a while. Sorry about that."

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I would think you are _trying_ to make this adventure as long as possible."

"But aren't you having fun?"

She didn't answer because she was still debating on how she actually felt about this journey, and looking at the huge climb they had to do didn't make her feel any better.

"It will be easy. Just take one step at a time, and we'll be up there in no time!"

Twilight took a step and then another. Discord climbed beside her and they went from rock to rock. She noticed that the air was getting drier and cooler. After some time, she stopped to take a rest and glimpsed down. It was amazing to see how high they had already come in this short time, even though they still had a long way to go. She clung tight to a rock, thinking about what would happen if she fell. It reminded her of being on Cloudsdale to see Rainbow Dash's performance, and wondering what would happen if her magic had failed. She remembered seeing Rarity fall and how scared she was. It wasn't until now that she realized she had a fear of heights.

The rock she was holding was warm. She turned to see that it was actually Discord's arm. Feeling embarrassed she immediately let go.

He smiled. "It's alright, Miss Sparkle. After all, you don't have wings."

She was about to mention to him that he had wings, but she decided not to say anything because there had to be a reason why he wasn't flying her up there. Maybe it was related to how he couldn't do magic after that rainbow ride.

They were feeling better and continued climbing. It was getting steeper, and Twilight hoped she wouldn't slip, and if she did, then Discord could probably catch her. So to make things better, she didn't look down anymore.

"How much further do we have to go?" she asked. "I'm getting very tired."

"See that ledge up there? That's the end."

She saw that it wasn't too far away and became excited. She summoned the strength to make the last few steps to reach the ledge.

At last their climb was completed. They pulled themselves onto the ledge and saw the scene around them. It was truly magical. The sun was setting down through the clouds which cloaked the vast and majestic mountain like a silky blanket. Snow covered the ground flat and pristine and sparkling, untouched by ponykind since the three tribes abandoned it centuries ago. The evergreen trees were tall and perfectly formed, dusted lightly with snow. As far as she could see, the mountain was being painted with the colors of the sunset and gleaming with snow. Of all the things she had seen so far on this journey, this was probably the most beautiful. It was sparkling so much, and soon it would be twilight.

While she was dazed by the beauty of the view, she momentarily forgot how cold and tired she was. The climate here was drastically different from the jungle way down below.

She took a step forward, creating a whole in the snow which made a light crunching sound. There was a gentle wind blowing through her mane that was cold but brought with it what sounded like magical music to her ears.

"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Discord remarked, breaking the silence. "It's been so long since I've seen beauty like this, since I've felt so free."

Twilight was hit with pity again, probably harder than ever before. She thought about his loneliness as she watched the sun disappeared out on the horizon. For a moment, she felt like crying, but she held back tears and tried to forget about him.

"Well, we should probably set up camp. It's like twenty percent cooler here than it was in the jungle."

"Um... it's a bit more than that. It's freezing!" she corrected him.

"Yes it is, even a little too cold for me."

"But we can't both fit in that tent."

"Exactly, which is why I brought _my_ tent."

He snapped his fingers and made another tent appear. It looked a little bigger, but she still didn't see how they could both go inside.

"Well, who don't you take a look?" he suggested.

She peeked inside and gasped. "It's bigger on the inside!"

"Yeah, I know..." he grinned.


	8. The World of Ice

The inside of the tent was oddly decorated, but it was probably suitable for the spirit of chaos. What shocked Twilight the most was the size. It looked like an entire apartment in here. But it also still looked like a tent. The walls were still made of fabric and eerie blue light reflecting off the snow from the winter wonderland outside faded through.

"How is it possible?"

"Magic... and a little bit of imagination. But it might be a little bit too advanced for you, I'm afraid. Even as the symbol of the element of magic, you're still _just a unicorn_." he lightly teased. "And, I'm sorry that you have to be here with me. I understand how it drains you of your magic. After all, I am an opposing force."

Twilight sat down on a sofa and shivered. It was frigid. She could see her breath in the air as little puffs of steam.

Discord spat flames into the fireplace to start it, but even that wouldn't be enough to provide enough light to see or enough heat to warm the tent to a comfortable temperature.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked her.

"No thank you." she smiled politely, fearing it would be turn out to be something weird.

"Are you sure?"

She hesitated for a moment and quickly remembered how cold she was. "Alright, sure." She gazed into the mesmerizing patterns in the golden flickering fire while he was away in the kitchen.

He returned to the main room in a minute and sat down beside her on the sofa, handing her the drink.

It was hot chocolate, rich and creamy, and the perfect warmth. _He must have tried really hard to make this normal. That was nice of him._ She thought. _In fact, why am I not feeling uncomfortable being so close to him? Shouldn't I be wanted to get away from him?_

For just a moment, their eyes met in the strange dim blue light. He was wearing his familiar sorrowful face. It was so sad that it hurt her deep inside her soul, making her feel even colder. She finished the drink, but still it wasn't enough to provide comfort.

"Discord... have you ever liked anyone before?"

"Well, I once dated a Windigo, but that didn't end well. She had a rather frosty personality."

She smiled. "That reminds me, I'm probably never going to sleep tonight."

"Ah, because you're too cold?" he inquired.

"Yeah, I wish I could do magic, that would help, but honestly I'll do anything to get warmer."

Discord looked conflicted like he was deciding whether or not he was going to do something, but it looked like he finally decided to do it in the end. He gently wrapped his arm around her. It surprised her, but it was warm and comforting, it was everything that she thought he could never be. Eventually, he put his other arm around her, and she raised her front hooves to embrace him in a hug. She was warm and safe in his arms and everything was alright. Everything was perfect.

_Why am I doing this?_ She questioned herself. _I don't even seem to care about what he did to Equestria or my friends. He has changed now. Being with him makes me happy. As impossible as it sounds, it's almost as if he is my..._

She suddenly realized the truth and saw a spark in her eyes, a spark that came from within her. She felt the wonderful energy of magic returning to her body.

"...friend." she said the last word audibly.

"What was that?"

"Thank you," she said, "for being my friend."

He didn't respond; he didn't mock her for being right or even say a single word. They just continued hugging. It was so warm and peaceful.

She decided to let go, but he held on to her to keep her warm. She leaned her head against his shoulder and rested. "I know why you're so sad." she announced.

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Because this is your only chance to live your dream and gain your freedom. You're kind are all gone, aren't they?"

He sighed. "You're too smart, Twilight. Oh yes, the Draconequus went extinct when ponykind took over this world. I am the only one left. I am the immortal spirit of the chaos that was left behind, a remnant that symbolizes the past and maintains chaos. But eventually, I fear, even I might fade away."

"Don't say that..."

"But it's true! The princesses are doing their job too well. Soon I will have no purpose because harmony will engulf the entire world."

"But I won't let that happen to you, because you're my friend."

"I admire your determination, but even you can't stop the inevitable."

"But I could try..." she smiled smugly.

"Oh, you've tried something like that before. I've heard all about that Smarty Pants incident, and that's not the pony who you really are. As a symbol of an element of harmony, there is nothing you can do to help me. I am the enemy of your kind."

She felt sad for him, but didn't know what to say.

"And I've noticed that your magic has come back. I figured you were going to teleport back to Ponyville as soon as you got the chance."

"And leave you behind? No way! We have to find that goose, remember? I'm going to make sure you get your freedom."

"Thank you, Twilight."

The warmth was making her sleepy, and she calmly drifted away into the darkness.


	9. The World of Fire

There was definitely a chirping sound coming from somewhere. Twilight thought it sounded like a bird. She opened her eyes and saw herself wrapped in a warm blanket and lying across the sofa in Discord's tent. The subtle light of the morning was seeping in through the fabric of the tent. There were birds outside busily working on finding food and completing their morning tasks

Since last night, her entire perspective of their journey was changed. She was actually excited to continue and was hoping the day she returned to Equestria would never come.

While Discord was away she prepared herself for the day ahead, wondering what exciting places they would see or what creatures they would find. A delightful scent reached her nose, one that she didn't recognize. She wondered if he was cooking.

While looking around, she saw a scroll on the table near the sofa. It looked like a message from Princess Celestia. Twilight remembered that her magic had returned and so she used it to unravel the scroll and hold it.

_Dear Twilight Sparkle,_

_How has your progress been so far? Are you safe? I am looking forward to your return soon._

_Sincerely, Princess Celestia_

She wrote a response telling the princess that they were fine and including all the things they had seen and done so far. She also said that they would be home soon without telling her how long that would be (because she honestly didn't know how much further there was to go). But she omitted the events of the previous evening. The princess didn't need to know those details, and in fact, she might not be happy knowing she is a friend of her enemy.

Twilight sealed the scroll and set it on the table. Then she heard his voice. He was singing a strange song.

"Trolololo la, la-la-la, la-la-"

"What are you singing?"

"Oh, nothing important..." he replied as he strode into the room. "But I made you some breakfast."

"What is it?"

"I don't know, I just sort of threw it together from what we had collected." He handed her the plate and sent the scroll away with a flame.

It looked sort of like an omelet. Twilight tried it nervously. It was different, but not bad at all. "It's good. Thanks. But, uh, what are we going to do today?"

"Ah, I'm glad you asked. According to the map we are getting very close to Neighberg."

"Where?"

"An ancient alicorn city where the royal family originally lived. And it is the most likely place to find the goose because the princesses were raised there from birth. It was a charming little place, until that volcano erupted."

"A volcano?"

"Yeah, that's why all the survivors moved away. The princesses headed to the mainland and made a home in the Everfree Forest where Luna became Nightmare Moon and you and your friends discovered the Elements of Harmony. Then they eventually established Canterlot as the capital when they united the tribes and officially organized Equestria. Anyway, I hope some of the ruins are still intact so we can find that goose."

"Yeah, me too. Are we ready to go?"

"Yes!"

They exited the tent and Discord cleaned it up. The air was cold but refreshing. They pushed their way through the snow to the other side of the mountain where another peak could be seen a few miles away below them. There was some smoke coming out from a large chasm at its top.

Discord sat down on the hill and slid down. It was a long slide to the bottom and there were trees that he could hit, but Twilight followed him anyway. She slid down the mountainside and gained speed. Trees and rocks zipped by and although it was frightening, there was an exhilarating feeling that came with it also. She laughed as the wind blew through her mane.

Eventually they slowed to a stop near the volcano.

"Where is the city?"

"Oh, Twilight, I regret to have to tell you that it is in there."

She gulped. Now that they were closer, she could see how colossal the volcano was. The snow all around its base wasn't very cold, because it was actually mostly ash.

The two of them cautiously approached the rim to take a look inside. There was a low rumbling sound coming from the ground. Occasionally, a vent would spew a loud and dark plume of smoke. Most of the lava had hardened, but there were still a few red glowing streams moving like snakes among the ruins.

"Oh, it looks lovely..." she joked. But before she could take a step further, Discord held her back.

"One does not simply trot into Neighberg!"

"Oh, and why not?" she asked.

He thought about it for a moment. "I really don't know, but that's what they all say. I guess we can go in now."

They climbed down into the volcano from stone to stone. Twilight was getting covered in ash and dirt, but she didn't care. It was warm inside, almost like the jungle, but not at all humid.

As they walked past stony ruins, Twilight could see that most of the signs of civilization had been erased by the disaster. They were heading towards a huge building which she could only assume was the royal castle. Out of all the buildings, it seemed to be the least damaged. It looked even larger than Canterlot Castle with many tall and wide towers coming from it. And it was ornamented with gargoyles and other things that she did not know.

They passed through a large rusted gate into an empty yard surrounding the castle that may have been their garden. Then they approached a giant door bordered by cobwebs. The royal crest was engraved into the front of the door. Discord pushed it and it swung open with a loud creak. The inside was dim and looked like it might be haunted.

"Ladies first?" he asked.

"Oh no, you may go first if you like." she said.

"Alright then," he said, leading the way into the castle. "Let's split up and find that goose."


	10. Forgotten Past

Until Twilight's eyes adjusted, all she could see was empty darkness, but then the room slowly came into focus. It may once have been a beautiful entrance hall with marble floors, fancy rugs, elegant tapestries and glimmering chandeliers.

"Uh, where do we look for it?" she asked him as he wandered away.

"I don't know," he shouted back, "just look for clues." Then he vanished down another hall.

"Oh yeah, that's really going to help..." she muttered.

Out of the many different passages to choose from, she chose one randomly and trotted away to wherever it led. There were countless rooms in the castle; some were big, some were small, some were simple, many more were extravagant. But nowhere she went provided any clue as to where the goose could be found.

Then she came across a chamber with a large staircase leading to the upper levels. Figuring she could find something better up there, she took the stairs and started on a new hallway.

Eventually, after searching the castle for a couple hours, she came to Princess Celestia's room. She could tell it belonged to her because it looked like a room made for a royal filly, and she assumed Luna's room wouldn't be so bright. She was excited at first, but after searching every inch of the room there was still no trace of the goose or any clue about where it could have gone.

She turned around and almost stepped on a giant spider. Screaming, she quickly galloped away feeling tired and angry. She was going to see how Discord was doing. He was still searching on the main level in the library, throwing books off of shelves.

"Nope, nope, nope, nope." and once he was finished with a row, his neck would stretch out longer to start on the next one.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Oh, well, you know, one of these could be a secret lever to a hidden room."

"That's ridiculous." Twilight said.

"Oh really, then do you have a better idea? It doesn't look like you've had any better luck."

She blushed. "Well, no I haven't. I think I'll check the kitchen next, that is, if you haven't already."

She remembered seeing the kitchen before in a hall that she had been through before. But she didn't search it because there could not be any good reason why it would be in there.

There were pots and pans and empty bags of cooking supplies, but as she suspected, it was nowhere to be found in there. However, she noticed a door leading to the dining hall which she did not notice was there before.

In the dining hall, the table was set with candles, plates, silverware and napkins all old and covered with dust. The ceiling was high and surrounding the room were several paintings of royalty and nobility. There was one that caught her eye more than the others, the largest one mounted above the fireplace. She instantly recognized the princesses in the beautiful oil portrait. Even though they were much younger, they still had a similar appearance. In the rear were two alicorns wearing fancy clothes and crowns. Twilight assumed they must have been the king and queen.

As she looked at it and examined its details, she thought she saw them move. It must have been an illusion, but the ponies were moving in the painting. But they weren't in the painting anymore. Actually, the room was completely changed. It was bright and clean and they were sitting at the table eating a royal meal. The four of them were alone.

The king and queen watched their daughters nervously, not paying much attention to their own food.

"Dearest daughters," the king spoke, "thy mother and I have a matter of great importance to speak to you about."

"Yes, what is it?" Celestia asked politely in a young voice.

The queen looked like she was about to say something, but hesitated. "We are going on a journey, a very long journey and we may never return."

"Why? Where art thou going?" Luna asked with an ever younger and higher voice.

"It is not of any importance to you." the king said. "But you two may have to rule for yourselves."

"What nonsense is this?" Celestia asked. "We are not yet prepared to rule yet. What is the date of thy departure?"

"This night." the king said sternly.

"What? ... No!"

The queen stood up and walked over to comfort her daughter. "Be brave, my dear. You will have to take care of Luna and make your own choices. This is meant to be."

Celestia's eyes teared up. "But I don't want you to leave!"

"We must."

"But you said you would not be returning."

"We probably will not."

"That's not true! The magicians say this mountain contains mysterious fire that will destroy us all. But even that cannot happen, can it?"

The king sighed. "You must never say that. Anything can happen."

Twilight watched the scene fade away and another one replaced it. It was a few years later because they had grown. Celestia and Luna entered the room looking fearful. Their parents were gone and they were still just princesses learning to cope with the stress of ruling on their own.

The ground was rumbling and shaking. "What is happening?" Luna asked.

"The legends were true." Celestia answered. "The fire mountain will destroy us all. We must flee."

"But where to?"

"To a new land called Equestria. It is where the other tribes have gone. There is a wooded area they found where we may make our new home."

"But what about all our possessions?"

"They are not that important. Everything is in the vault."

"So we flee now?"

"Wait, we will need the Elements of Harmony. They are still in the vault."

"Which one is it?"

"Large and crimson."

Luna obeyed and ran out of the dining room. She looked like she was heading towards the library.

Discord put his hand on Twilight's back. She was awoken from the vision and reappeared in the present.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "You've been staring at that for quite a long time."

"I don't know what to say..." she began. As much as she already knew about pony history, she had learned almost nothing about the history of the princesses. "I don't know if it was ghosts or a miracle or what. But I think I know where the goose is!"

"Then where is it?"

Twilight ran away without answering. He followed her back into the library. "Celestia said it was large and crimson. I think she meant a book."

They ran different directions through the shelves, checking for a large and crimson book. Eventually, they both entered the same row and found it at the same time. The color was faded, but there was no doubt that it was the one.

"May I?" he asked with a grin.

"Be my guest."

He pulled at the large book and there was a deep thud in the ground.

"So... what was that?" she asked.

"I have no idea- AHHHHH!"

The floor opened up and they fell into a bottomless pit.


	11. The Vault

They landed on a cold stone floor with no light anywhere.

"Are you alright?" Discord's voice came out of the darkness.

"Yeah," Twilight answered, "and you?"

"Peachy keen."

"Well then... what happened?"

"This must be the royal vault."

"Why are you whispering?"

"For spooky effects." he said.

"Well stop it, it's already spooky enough without any light."

"I can fix that." he blew a short stream of fire which momentarily illuminated the room. Then it was dark again.

"Did you see that torch on the wall?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll get it." He stood up and felt his way along the wall to where the torch was. There was a metallic bang. "OW!"

"What happened? Are you alright?"

"Uh... yeah. I forgot how tall I was. Here, just let me light this first."

The torch ignited and the room now had constant lighting. Now that they could see clearly, they noticed that the ceiling was sealed so they wouldn't be getting out that way. The only thing in the room other than the torch was a large door with a circular hole in it.

"Well we don't have any snortle noses to open that." Twilight remarked.

"No, that hole is too big for a snortle, it looks more like... a hoof. You should try it."

She approached the door. "Are you sure?"

"Oh yeah, what's the worst that could happen?"

She put a hoof in the hole and there was a sound of chains moving. The door in front of her wasn't opening because the sounds were coming from the floor. It was opening beneath their feet and they fell again into another pit below. The floor of this one was scattered with bones.

"What was that about?" she demanded.

"Well, I think it didn't recognize you as a royal authority so we were dropped in here to die."

"Oh, great! Why did you tell me to put my hoof in there?"

"I don't know, maybe there's still a way out. See that writing on the wall?"

"What writing?"

"Look behind you."

She turned around and saw a message written in ancient pony.

"I've never been much good at that stuff." Discord said. "So I hope you can figure out what it means."

"Well, I did read a book on it, but I'm not that good. So... let's see. Those who want to enter the vault... must pass a test see if they are worthy to reach it."

"Great! What kind of test?"

"Uh... physical and mental challenges that are potentially... deadly."

"Death traps? This will be the best game ever!"

"I'm glad you think so, because I'm frightened to death."

"Ha ha! Let it begin!"

As if the room could hear him, spikes began slowly coming out of the walls towards them.

"They say it's what's on the inside that counts, but I'm not sure I'm ready to see it for myself." he joked.

"THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR HUMOR!" she shouted. "DO SOMETHING!"

He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. "Hmm... the place is magic proof? Ooh, that's good..."

A hidden door suddenly opened on the far side of the room.

"Twilight, do you trust me?"

"Uh... can I think about it for a while?"

"I'll take that as a yes." He picked her up and threw her across the room and out the door to safety, but he couldn't get himself out in time. She watched in horror as the spikes closed in on him. As they touched his body, they dissolved away.

Once the room was filled with metal dust, he walked out of the room to her.

"But... HOW?"

"Why so surprised? I'm immortal, remember? You're the only one we need to worry about."

"So it didn't do _anything_ to you?"

"Well, it did hurt a little..."

"I don't believe you." she gawked.

They entered the second room to see what the next challenge would be.

"Ooh, it's a rising pool of acid." he said. "How lovely... Anyway, we should get going." He picked her up again and jumped in, holding her above his head. "Okay, now that actually hurts a lot. Ahh!"

The acid was still rising and it went above his head. His arms were still out and holding her only inches above the surface. Then at the end, he jumped out. Twilight backed away from him because he looked awful.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh, I've never felt better." he responded. "Just don't try to hug me until this dries."

"You do realize you could have used your wings." she reminded him.

"Hmm, I guess you're right... Anyway, on to the next room!"

In the third room they found a table with many different keys on it.

"Oh, so this is one of those mind tests where you have to figure out what key opens the door." he said.

"And I'm guessing if we use the wrong one, we die..." continued Twilight, "... or at least _I_ will."

The keys were of all sorts of different colors, weights, sizes, shapes and materials. They didn't know where to start, but then they noticed a diagram on the wall. There was a crossed out sun.

"Ok, so none of the glowing ones work." he concluded. Twilight removed all glowing keys from the pile.

"Now there's a crossed out tree. So... no wooden ones?" he guessed. Twilight removed those too.

"Next there's a hexagon. So it must have a handle in the shape of a hexagon." he continued.

Twilight removed all the keys with handles of a non-hexagon shape. "We still have seven left." she said.

"Alright, this last step is a bit tricky. It's a scale next to a line with an arrow pointing towards the center. Do you have any idea what that could mean?"

Twilight thought about it. "The scale must mean the weight of a key, and that arrow is pointing to the center. So the key that works will be the one that's in the middle, it's not too heavy and not too light."

"Great job!" he beamed.

They spent the next few minutes, testing the weight of each key and making sure that they were ordered correctly. The key in the center was made of sparkling emerald. It had to be the only correct one. There were key three heavier and three keys lighter than it.

Discord grabbed the chosen one and ran over to the large door. As expected, the key worked and the door opened. They cheered and moved on to the next hall.

It was a very long and winding cave. Some rocks in the walls glowed red from the magma behind them. They cautiously made their way up to the final door. It was made of metal and had a mysterious lock on it that was glowing and emitting weird mist.

"Oh, a magic lock." Discord said. "But how in the world do they expect us to break it if we can't use magic."

Twilight smiled.

"What is it?"

"I can use magic!"

"Then why can't I?"

"Because I'm a pony! I'm sure the royal family would only want a pony to be able to enter this vault, and a powerful one at that."

"But are you sure you can break _that_?"

"Of course! I represent the element of magic! It might be a little advanced for you, though. After all, you are _just a Draconequus_."

With the burning force of friendship alive within her, her horn glowed, and so did the lock. The room was filled with brilliant white light so strong and beautiful that Discord was amazed. The lock burst into millions of white sparkles and then the door opened, and the magic faded away.

Neither of them could speak as they looked into the vault. It was huge and filled with more treasure and artifacts than they could have imagined. Shiny golden coins were mounded in piles dozens of feet high and many jewels of every kind of color were scattered throughout the room. Books and fine clothes were stacked and hung around the cavern. It was the most spectacular view they had ever seen.

But out of all the wonderful things in the vault, one of them stood out the most. It was a stuffed goose, antique, and once loved a lot. It was staring at them from across the room. Twilight stepped forward carefully, her hooves sliding around in the gold covering the floor, and then she carefully lifted the fragile toy up from its pedestal. It was their prize, their goal, and their quest was over.

Discord shouted for joy and a hole broken open in the ceiling. Above them they could see the moon and thousands of shimmering stars.

He picked her up and they flew away. She wrapped one arm around his warm body as they soared out of the castle, out of the volcano, and up above the mountain where the sky was clear for as far as the eye could see. And they laughed and they cried together.

They landed on a cliff overlooking the dead city in the volcano, lightly glowing red from the magma. And all around the mountain were trees, their canopies reflecting the moonlight, and to their left, the vast, deep blue ocean. Twilight was still holding the goose with one arm, but she didn't want to go home. She didn't want to leave this wonderful world she had discovered, and she certainly didn't want to leave him.

Discord was also looking at the beautiful view. His eyes were reflecting the moonlight and were full of the hope for his freedom. He noticed Twilight was looking at him so he turned to see her. A few tears were building up in his eyes. "Thank you so much, Twilight. You did it!"

"No, _we_ did it." she corrected him.


	12. Surprise

The morning sunlight awakened Twilight in Discord's arms. Even though they had been outside the entire time, the magic of friendship had kept her warm.

"Ah, good morning, sleepyhead." he said. "Are you ready to go home?"

As much as she was having a good time, she couldn't lie to herself. She was tired and hungry and really needed to clean up. And she couldn't leave her other friends and Spike alone forever. "Yeah, sure."

"What does it take for you to teleport?"

"I have to have been there before so I can visualize its location in my mind."

"So can you teleport both of us right now... to Canterlot Castle?"

"Uh... yes."

"Great, so let's go!"

Discord held on to the goose with one hand and onto Twilight with the other. "I'm ready."

Twilight concentrated on Canterlot and in a moment there was a burst of magic and when she opened her eyes they were standing in front of the Celestia's throne.

"Well that certainly took you long enough..." she said, sipping a cup of tea.

"It was hard," Twilight said, "but we finally got the goose."

Celestia looked surprised. "Oh, really? Well... wow. Good job."

"What's wrong?" Discord asked. "Didn't you say you wanted it?"

"Well, I sort of expected you to give up and come home. I sent you a message to come home but I don't think you received it. I didn't believe you would actually find it. That's... amazing."

"Then why did you send us to find it?" Twilight asked.

"Because it was..."

Princess Luna interrupted by bursting out of a doorway in tears. "It was so sad. He didn't want to go, but he had to." Then she realized that Twilight and Discord were there and quickly regained composure. "Oh, um, we have come to join the discussion."

"Anyway," Celestia continued. "I was about to say..."

Twilight's friends and Spike rushed in through the front door. "Hey, Twilight!" they said in unison.

Celestia looked nervous. "Don't you see we are not ready yet?"

They looked at the princess and then sheepishly backed out the door.

"Princess, what is going on?" the unicorn asked.

"Oh, well, I feel bad for missing your birthday party a few months ago and so I figured there were many ponies that have never really gotten a chance to meet you or thank you for saving them time and time again so..." she paused for dramatic effect. "We threw you a party!"

"SURPRISE!" shouted thousands of voices. The room was suddenly full of ponies from all over Equestria. Confetti rained down over the entire room and streamers were lined all along the walls. A large banner with Twilight's name and face on it hung from the ceiling.

"But... how did you do it?"

"Well, it took several days of preparation," Celestia said, "even with the help of your friend Pinkie Pie. So we needed to have you out of the way for a while. That's why we sent you on a wild goose chase."

"So... it was all for nothing?" Twilight looked crestfallen.

"We think not." Luna protested. She approached Twilight and lovingly took the goose. "We have always been more attached to this thing than _they_."

Twilight was now approached by her other friends. They glowered at Discord until he became uncomfortable and walked away. He left the castle as ponies booed. Twilight wished everypony could treat him a little better, and she wondered how she was going to be able to explain their new friendship to them.

"Hey, Twilight, are you having fun?" Pinkie asked, unable to control her excitement.

"Oh, yeah, it's nice..." she muttered.

"Well I hope you have fun, sugarcube," Applejack said, "because we have a lot of stuff to get you caught up on."

"Like uh, in the Everfree Forest..." Fluttershy began quietly.

"In the Everfree Forest, there's a problem that Zecora is having trouble with!" Rainbow Dash shouted, "And..."

"Rainbow!" Applejack cried, "Why didn't you let Fluttershy speak?"

"Twilight, dear, when was the last time you've showered?" Rarity asked, completing ignoring the others arguing. "You look absolutely dreadful!"

Twilight then turned her attention to Spike. He didn't say a single word to her. He just smiled because he was happy to have her back home.

Then she suddenly remembered how hungry she was. She walked over to a food table to find something to eat, while trying to push away the drowsiness and ignore the crowds of ponies wanting to talk to her.

She really wanted to find Discord and spend some more time with him, but she was patient. For now, she socialized with the other ponies. She heard all the newest stories from Cheerilee's class, the Cutie Mark Crusader's ideas of things to do to get their cutie marks, all the parties that Rarity's friends in Canterlot were inviting her to, and the dilemma in the Everfree Forest that she was eventually going to have to fix with her friends.

The party died down by the end of the day, and although she was extremely tired, she did admit that she had had some fun.

As she had expected, Twilight found Discord standing outside the castle by himself. A she approached him, she noticed he didn't look very happy. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you come inside?"

Discord followed Twilight inside. The whole place was messy from the party and only Celestia was left.

"There's something that isn't right." he said softly.

"How bad is it?"

"I don't know... but I'm about to find out." he walked up to Celestia and bowed before her.

"Yes?" the princess asked.

"I apologize for taking your time, but I was wondering when you were going to keep your side of the deal."

The princess didn't respond. She just stared at him.

"The goose. You said if we found it and I protected Twilight, you would give me my own portion of Equestria to rule."

Celestia hesitated to answer. She wore an impenetrable poker face. Twilight suspected she knew what was going to happen and it scared her.

"Oh..." the princess finally spoke, with anger in her eyes. "I do remember that conversation."

"So will you honor your promise?" he pleaded.

"I would let you have it if there wasn't a certain little problem..." the princess said.

Discord looked puzzled. "What?"

"You and I both know that wouldn't be allowed to happen." Her horn glowed and discord was surrounded with light.

"NO!" he screamed.

The room was filled with bright white light. Twilight was petrified with horror. She silently screamed in her head. A great day had suddenly become the worst day of her life.

When she dared to open her eyes again, Discord was a stone statue on the floor with a look of fear etched into his face. She leaped to him and held his stony form with tears of anguish streaming from her eyes.

"WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST GIVE IT TO HIM?" Twilight shouted at the princess, whom she once looked up to. She didn't know how this could be possible.

"Somehow I knew this would end badly, but I didn't know you would actually become his friend."

"TELL ME WHY!"

"Because he can't be trusted! He and his species have been the enemy of ponykind of thousands of years and there is nothing that can change that!"

"BUT HE'S CHANGED!" she protested, never feeling so angry before in her life.

"Since you joined up with him, you've lost the element of magic. I sensed it the moment you returned. Letting you go with him was one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. Now do you see what becoming his friend has done to you?" She lightly tugged at Twilight with magic to have her let go of the statue. Then she noticed something Discord was holding in his stone hand. It was that dusty gem that he got from the island.

"Ah, the chaos crystal..." Celestia remarked. "I thought you went to that island just to kill some time, but it looks like you actually [i]did[/i] find it there." She shot a beam of light from her horn that shattered it into dust. "If he had decided to use it then I'm not sure if the Elements of Harmony would even be strong enough to stop him."

Twilight turned and ran out of the castle in tears.


	13. Midnight

It was the middle of the night in the Canterlot. The bell in the castle struck a dozen times. Most of the city was sleeping. There was nobody near the sculpture garden. The only sound was the leaves in the hedge maze in the center of the hill as they fluttered lightly in the cool breeze. Stone figures, all cold and dead, sat silent around the hedges under the moonlight and the thousands of stars in the dark blue nighttime sky.

A mare shrouded in a dark cloak was carefully walking up the hill and took her time examining the garden. After checking to make sure she was alone, she walked all around the garden, looking for a particular statue. It didn't take long for her to find it, the Draconequus who had recently turned back into stone had returned to his usual place in the garden.

The mare looked around a second time to ensure she was by herself. A large glimmering gem sat on her outstretched hoof held in front of the statue. It was releasing multicolored particles that whizzed around the statue. A tiny fissure appeared in the stone. And then another, and then the cracks grew wider and wider. In just a few seconds, the statue burst apart and the Draconequus was released from his stony prison.

"Oh, wow! I'm out again!" He took a moment to stretch. "That's feels good."

"Keep your voice low..." the mare instructed.

"Wait... who are you? And how did you free me?"

The mare lowered her hood to reveal a lavender unicorn, Twilight Sparkle.

"But... how could you reverse the princess's spell?"

"With this..." Twilight grinned, holding up the shimmering gem.

"Hold on a second, I think I remember hearing that conversation. Didn't she destroy it?"

"Aha! What you failed to see was the old switcheroo. Remember when we were running from the snortles? Well I didn't trust you when I saw you gazing at that box, so I replaced it with a worthless one I found on the way out. I kept the real one in the old tent most of the time."

"Twilight! You're a genius."

"And when we were in the royal library, I found a book on the history of the Draconequus which I hid to take home. After that party, I read all about the war of your species with the ponies. And I found out lots of information about the chaos crystal. It was created by the ponies to contain the chaos energy and keep your people extinct."

"And so the chaos energy is what released me? That's brilliant! Do you have any idea how powerful that could be? That could bring my species back!"

"Consider it my gift to you," she said, "My gift to a great friend."

"Um... are you sure you trust me with this?"

"No. Just because you're my friend doesn't mean I trust you. That's why I took certain precautions. The gem is locked."

"What? You can't lock it."

"Well I did. You won't be able to bring your people back."

Discord held the amazing gem in his hands and paused. "I... don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything."

"But... when I leave, we may never see each other again."

"And I will return to my normal life and become the Element of Magic again. But you never know, I may just see you again."

He smiled. "So you aren't angry with Celestia anymore?"

"Not really, I think she was only trying her best to protect Equestria. I mean, it's not like you've proven yourself trustworthy in the past. She had to assume you were dangerous."

"You have a point." he admitted. "Still, I'll keep in touch with you if I can."

"Sounds like a good plan to me."

"And just one more thing. Please have a good life, Twilight. Can you do that for me."

"I will." she promised. And using her magic she placed an identical statue of Discord where he had been standing a minute earlier. It would be enough to fool everypony for now. "It's time to go."

He rose into the air and soared away with the hope gleaming in his eyes that Twilight had always loved to see. He disappeared among the stars in the distance, flying away to a better land where he could be happy. Twilight fought hard to hold back tears. Eventually she was once again alone in the garden with nothing left but the memories of the times they had had together.

She stared at the place where he had vanished and whispered quietly. "Take care, my friend."


End file.
